Tag Archives: slate tiles

A builder had made a real mess of this customer’s new Slate tiled wet room. When installing any new natural stone tiles, it is always recommended to apply the sealer before grouting, since – as was the case here – the porosity of the stone can cause the grout to stick with to the stone, leaving a terrible blotchy and uneven appearance.

What’s more, once stuck to the stone, the grout is essentially impossible for the tiler to remove. In this wet room, light grey grout had been left smeared all over the Slate tiled walls, causing haze in some places.

Understandably, she was very upset with the situation and was eager to secure some professional help, courtesy of the Kent Tile Doctor. I travelled down to the property, situated in Sevenoaks, Kent, to set the problems right.

Restoring the appearance of a Slate Tiled Wet Room

To begin, I had to tape up all the chrome and metal fittings found around the bathroom to stop them coming into contact with the cleaning products. I them started the restoration by applying Tile Doctor Acid Gel, which is a PH1 blend of Phosphoric and Hydrochloric acids for the removal of grout haze.

As it comes in a gel form, this product is especially effective on vertical or sloped surfaces, where more dwell time is required. A liquid product would, of course, simply run off the tiles. So, working on small areas at a time, I allowed the gel to dwell for around five minutes, before agitating the solution with a pan scrubber, and rinsing the gel off with water. Once I had completed this process on the whole of the wet room, I allowed the tiles to dry out before repeating the process on some of the areas suffering from thicker smears of grout.

Sealing Slate Wet Room Tiles

When I was happy that I had removed all of the grout smears, I ensured that all the tiles were dry before applying Tile Doctor Stone Oil. This product is an easy-to-apply, pre-polish impregnating sealer which is ideal for low porosity stone and also suitable for more porous stone, such as Terracotta. It is also specially designed to enhance the natural colours and textures of tiles, and improve mechanical strength once cured. The oil is particularly effective when used on dark stone, like this Slate, as it really helps to deepen the colour.

I returned the next day to seal the tiles completely using one coat of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal to lock in the Stone Oil applied the previous day. Ultra Seal is a premium, no-sheen, natural-look, solvent-based penetrating sealer formulated to provide maximum stain protection. It allows moisture vapour transmission and is an excellent grout sealer.

The customer was very happy with the results, which set this difficult problem right. In particular, she was worried that all of the tiles would have to be removed and the entire wet room would have to be redone. Thankfully that is no longer the case, and she can enjoy this fantastic Slate feature. All she needs to be concerned with now is ensuring the tiles are regularly maintained with professional care, including having the sealer topped up as and when necessary.

Reviews

Testimonials

Dear Jason, As I missed you, just wanted to say a big thanks for saving my floor! I can now sweep and wash it and it looks like its actually been done for the first time in 5 years. I will obviously be in once we have saved up and put the new kitchen in so we can do the other floor. Once again, many thanks.Mrs. D. Wilcox, Tenterden

The terracotta floor looks lovely.Mrs Bennett, Canterbury

The work carried out on my kitchen tiles was excellent. I was worried that the marks would not come out of the tiles but Jason did a really good job and I am very pleased with the results.Bal, Longfield

I found Mr Gates to be a desent hard working man, who is dedicated to offering a good friendly service. Mr Gates went out of his way to ensure that we were happy with his work. Top marksKenny, London, E16

Was impressed with Jason's work ethic and desire to complete the job to a high standard.Mr M. Howitt, London, SE15

To be honest, the end result was not as good as I was hoping for, although Jason did come round and do a test piece first showing us what the end result may look like. So overall disappointed not to have ended up with a shinier finish, but this was our decision to go ahead after seeing the test result.Mrs T Cannon, Bromley

Jason recently refurbished our terracotta kitchen floor and it has made such a difference - so easy to clean now and looks beautiful again. Jason worked extremely hard and we would definitely recommend his work.Ms A. Day, Gillingham

Many thanks Jason. You have done a brilliant job. Take Care Regards Connie.

Great Job! A totally professional job, done with great courtesy and minimal intrusion. And now a sparkling clean floor with advice on maintenance as well.V. Greenwood.

Speedy response and estimate. Excellent service and a very competitive price. Great end product.Mr. & Mrs Zoumot, London.

Absolutely delighted with the work Jason did in our bathroom after our tilers left us with a horrendous tile grout problem. Two acid solution treatments later we decided to use the tile doctor services. Jason has done a fantastic and thorough job. Would highly recommend his work. Thank you again, our tiles finally look like they were meant too.Ms. K. Holmes

Hi Jason, Thank you very much indeed for doing such a great job on Friday. The tiles look wonderful. Now we just need to decorate the rest of the house! With thanks and best wishes, Caroline.

Very happy & pleased, Bathroom looks like new. Would recommend Jason to another customer.Ms. S. Markham, Battersby, London